I've called these Moroccan-style meatballs because I've tried to use Moroccan style spicing - not because they are in any way authentically Moroccan! It is a very simple process and I made it in about 40 minutes last night. We had the meatballs with plain basmati rice, which I started cooking before beginning the meatballs and sauce, but I think this would also be good with couscous.
Start with lamb mince - I used a medium size pack of mince and had enough for four people. Put the mince in a bowl and add salt, pepper, ground cumin, ground corriander and cinnamon (not too much as it can take over). If you want them spicy you can add chili or paprika here too. Also add some tomato puree. Squish the mixture together until it is all well mixed, put to one side.
Start the sauce. Add oil to a pan, I used a mix of sunflower and olive. Then add crushed garlic, and onion. I used two spring onions because I had some, but I would usually use a medium onion. Get this cooking on a low heat and add salt, pepper, chili, paprika, cumin seed, and corriander - you can also add ground cumin if you want a stronger flovour. Allow them to cook together unitl the onion is floppy and transparent, don't brown. Then add chopped pepper (I used yellow) and a chopped courgette. Allow these to get halfway through being cooked before adding a tin of tomatoes and tomato puree (sugar will help the tomatoes to taste less tinny).
While the sauce is bubbling away you can make the meatballs. Add oil to a frying pan but don't turn the heat on yet. Take small pieces of mince and roll them into a ball in your hands. Make them as big or small as you like, I make lots and lots of little ones as they take a short time to cook and everyone gets lots, instead of two or three big ones. Put the meatballs straight into the pan, and when all the meat is in the pan turn on the heat - if you put the heat on first then the meatballs will all cook at different times. Let the meatballs cook until you can see the change of colour creeping up the sides. Then give them a shake in the pan to turn them over. You might find that lots of water comes out of the meat, but just keep moving them around every 2-3 minutes and this will go quite quickly.
Once the meatballs are well coloured on each side you can add them to the sauce. Use a holey spoon to scoop them out of the frying pan (don't add them directly or you'll get all the fat too). Tip the fat out of the frying pan (into a tin can or other rubbish container, not directly into the bin!) and add the sauce and meatballs back into the frying pan. (You don't have to do this last step but I find that you get the flavour from the pan into the sauce).
And that's that!
Ant-O-Meter score: 4 leaves! Brill!
